I never imagined that Nissan would actually do it, but for a Nissan Note to have a Voltec/i3 REX/Outlander PHEV type series hybrid capacity in a car as small as the Note, well the old super motor concept may just be viable.

This was actually a 2007 era concept car Mixim

If they actually start selling a supermotor Note this year in Japan, then hats off to Nissan for secrecy award, thats 9 years of stealth.the thinking behind supermotor is similar to CVT and Mazda rotary engines. easy to draw, hard to make

...At the LCV 2016 event in the UK last week, Delta Motorsport unveiled a new low-cost micro-turbine applied as a range-extended in an electric car. The company developed the E-4 Coupe extended-range electric electric vehicle in a £3.1-million (US$4-million) collaborative R&D project. The Office for Low Emission Vehicles (OLEV) and Innovate UK co-funded the project.

The new system, dubbed MiTRE (Micro Turbine Range Extender), is specifically designed for use as a range extender for electric vehicles. Delta has produced two complete MiTRE prototype systems with 17 kW power output..

Capable of running on petrol, kerosene or diesel, the micro turbine spins at up to 120,000rpm, driving a 17kW generator...

The plan is to supply the range extender as a complete system, including the generator and the power electronics. With all the ancillaries (minus fuel) it is said to weight approximately 45kg – considerably less than having an extra adult passenger onboard. Delta Motorsport plans to take the design through to production, although that’s unlikely to happen in-house.

There’s also a 35kW variant under development. This larger unit is said to be capable of maintaining the state of charge on a large passenger EV, such as a Tesla...

Bizarre, when you consider it, that BMW chose to use ~the same truck-sized ICE for the generator in its subcompact I-3...

UPS adding 200 more series hybrid delivery trucks

11 October 2016

UPS will add 200 new series hybrid electric delivery trucks to the company’s growing alternative fuel and advanced technology fleet. The vehicles have the same 650cc 2-cylinder engine and E-GEN chassis as the 125 vehicles UPS announced earlier this year. (Earlier post.)

Equipped with lithium ion batteries and a range-extender engine, these trucks will deliver significant fuel economy equivalency gains, approximately four times the fuel economy of a gasoline powered vehicle...

The original 2015 E-GEN Drive was propelled by a 200 kW Sumo electric motor/generator (from tm4 Electrodynamic Systems) with a 60 kWh pack (45 kWh usable) built with Panasonic 18650 Li-ion cells. A small 23 kW/30 hp, 2100 N·m PSI 2.4-liter internal combustion engine (ICE) served as the genset engine. The small ICE could be outfitted for gasoline, propane, or CNG...

Man! I just read all 135 posts on "range-extended" EV DIY projects, DIY and commercial plans as well as speculations, from micro turbines to wankel engines to BMW i3's and possible future Nissan and Mazda BEVx's.

Of course the term "range extender" could refer to just about anything that extends range, from driving habits, to charging stations, to the little 120V EVSE that comes with the Leaf, to aerodynamic modifications.

Personally I would be interested in a range extender for my Leaf, for several reasons. And I have several DIY ideas, only I can't seem to decide on one or the other.

I have a 1985 VW diesel Golf. The interior is shot but the engine is just getting broken in (it only has 470,000 miles on it.) I like the Mr. Sharkey idea of making a pusher trailer out of it, and adding propane fumigation for better emissions. Yet I know it would never get good emissions and so I'm not really inclined to do it although I have every thing to make one.

I also have a 1972 VW Beetle with a brand new engine I built myself. JB Straubel, before becoming CTO of Tesla, also used an air cooled VW engine for a pusher trailer on his homebuilt Porsche EV. Yet again, emissions are what bother me by the idea.

Incidentally, someone once offered me a used Capstone 40kW micro turbine for $4,000. I'm tempted to get back ahold of him so as to try what Phil did earlier in the thread. But there seems to be a lot of risk, and it seems to be a bit overkill too. I guess I just don't know enough about micro turbine's and 3 way inverters to get it to work without a disaster.

No one has mentioned steam. I would think a steam engine on a trailer for a range extender would be a wonderful idea. For two reasons: 1. A steam engine is very quiet, just like our EV's and 2: It is much easier to get low emissions with an external combustion engine. A prime example would be the Doble steamers of the 1920's. Those got and still get emissions that meet CARB requirements for a modern ICE car. They also only got 15mpg, not bad though for a 6,000lb 1920's vehicle that could do over 120mph!

A little 2 cylinder propane powered engine would seem about best IMO. Kohler makes a 23hp EFI propane engine. It's air cooled, but maybe with a little EFI, maybe even water injection and a good catalytic converter it could make not-so-bad emissions.

A wrecked Leaf's battery could be turned into a battery trailer. Solar panels could be added to it. I'm just a bit afraid of hacking into my Leaf's electric drive. I'd prefer a pusher trailer.

Then there's the motorcycle pusher idea. A decent motorcycle like the Honda NC700X would work, but wouldn't be cheap. The advantage is that I could use just the motorcycle, whereas most other ideas don't help me for anything else.

2013 SL 50,000 miles. 12 bars until 44,300 miles on June 2, 2017. 11 bars current. The Nissan Leaf is the fourth best long distance car for highway driving. >>Best Long Distance Cars<<

The Geneva motor show is one of the year's best opportunities to see concept cars from the few European design houses that are still around, but rarely are they luxury sedans with suicide doors. Hybrid luxury sedans with suicide doors, to be precise.

That's just what Pininfarina brought to Geneva: The H600 was developed in partnership with the Hybrid Kinetic Group and claims a maximum range of 621 miles, which gets over the all-important 1,000-kilometer barrier thanks to a mysterious battery and a turbine-run range extender, whose detailed specs were not disclosed.

But the performance figures of the concept sedan are nothing short of another shot fired in the EV launch-time wars: Pininfarina says the H600 can silently whoosh to 62 mph in just 2.9 seconds, and it has a output of "over 600 kilowatts," which translates to just over 800 hp. As you might have guessed by now, this 4,122-pound sedan won't be able to hit that max range of 612 miles if it lights up the tires at every traffic light, though the claimed maximum range is currently in the top tier of concept, if not production, EVs...

Geneva, 7 March 2017 – Techrules is debuting the final production design of its first series hybrid supercar at the 2017 Geneva Motor Show. 'Ren' is the first production vehicle from the China-based automotive research and development company, and features its proprietary Turbine-Recharging Electric Vehicle (TREV) technology.

The aerospace-inspired design is optimised for aerodynamic efficiency, wîth a striking modular three-cockpit design that has been crafted by world-renowned automotive designers, Fabrizio and Giorgetto Giugiaro. A sense of drama is assured by the distinctive fighter jet-style canopy that rises up to enable occupant access and futuristic elements such as the front laser headlights and 'star-burst' reversing LEDs.

The Ren features a lightweight chassis that has been designed and constructed to the highest standards by esteemed motorsport specialist, L.M. Gianetti of Turin. The performance-focused modular layout that allows the car to be configured wîth one, two or three polycarbonate canopies: one for track use by only the driver, two for the 'Le Mans' configuration wîth a single passenger, or three to accommodate the driver and two passengers.

Renis the world's first electric production supercar to feature the ground-breaking Techrules-developed Turbine-Recharging Electric Vehicle (TREV) system, previously introduced at the 2016 Geneva Motor Show. The series hybrid powertrain technology delivers unprecedented levels of efficiency and performance, and an ultra-low environmental impact.

A variety of configurations will be available to tailor the powertrain to the exact requirements of the customer. The flagship version – wîth a battery capacity of 25 kWh and wîth two motors at the front and four at the rear – delivers maximum power of 960kW (1,287 hp/1,305 ps) wîth a range of 1,170 km from 80 litres of diesel fuel (NEDC)...

The 30 kWh battery pack has a long life span (50,000 charging/discharging cycles) as well as high energy density (300 Wh/kg); it can sustain a very high charging rate (50C). The fast charging capability allows the H600 to recover up to 30% of kinetic energy. The H600 features all-wheel torque vectoring, and accelerates from 0 to 100 km/h in 2.9 seconds; the electric motors deliver combined maximum power of more than 600 kW. Range is more than 1,000 kilometers (621 miles)...

The chassis of the H600 is aluminum; empty weight for the vehicle is 1,870 kg (4,123 lbs).

When connected to residential home power systems with V2H (Vehicle-to-Home), H600 can provide electricity to homes and communities.When connected to other vehicles with V2V (Vehicle-to-Vehicle), H600 can charge other electric vehicles...

The Geneva motor show is one of the year's best opportunities to see concept cars from the few European design houses that are still around, but rarely are they luxury sedans with suicide doors. Hybrid luxury sedans with suicide doors, to be precise.

That's just what Pininfarina brought to Geneva: The H600 was developed in partnership with the Hybrid Kinetic Group and claims a maximum range of 621 miles, which gets over the all-important 1,000-kilometer barrier thanks to a mysterious battery and a turbine-run range extender, whose detailed specs were not disclosed...

Now if the other FC proponents trying to sell passenger vehicles in CA would just downsize their FCs and increase their battery pack sizes (maybe a BEVx with a ~20 kWh pack and a ~10 kW FC) they might actually sell me one...

The reason they won't, I expect, is that while a FC would make an excellent generator for a BEVx, it makes the proposition of ever developing expensive and inefficient H fueling infrastructure for such limited purposes even more unlikely.

UPS will deploy a prototype extended range Fuel Cell Electric Vehicle (FCEV) in its Rolling Laboratory fleet of alternative fuel and advanced technology vehicles. UPS is working with the US Department of Energy (DOE) and other partners to design a first-of-its-kind, zero tailpipe emissions, Class 6 medium-duty delivery truck that meets the same route and range requirements of UPS’ existing conventional fuel vehicles.

The UPS trucks are equipped with a 32 kW Hydrogenics fuel cell coupled to 45 kWh of battery storage and 10 kg of hydrogen fuel. Each FCEV produces electricity which continuously charges its batteries, thereby providing additional power and an extended range of 125 miles. This will support the full duty cycle of the truck, including highway driving...

I wonder what ever happened to the EP Tender, the Pru and the eBuggy. I know, some of these were being priced more than a Chevy Sonic or a VW Jetta. And some of these burned fuel which would seem contrary to the whole idea of buying a BEV in the first place. But it was a cool idea IMO. I wish it hadn't vanished like it did.

2013 SL 50,000 miles. 12 bars until 44,300 miles on June 2, 2017. 11 bars current. The Nissan Leaf is the fourth best long distance car for highway driving. >>Best Long Distance Cars<<